Customer Reviews

Cruise of the Dashing Wave: Rounding Cape Horn in 1860 (New Perspectives on Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology)

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Cruise of the Dashing Wave: Rounding Cape Horn in 1860 is the authentic testimony of Philip Hichborn's first nautical voyage, in which he served as the ship's carpenter. Though Hichborn was destined to one day become an admiral and chief constructor of the U.S. Navy, but at the time of Cruise of the Dashing Wave, his unfamiliarity with shipboard life lends a vivid description to his experiences with the ship's daily routine, and the extraordinary events that disrupted it - gales, severe ice and snow, the death of a crew member, and a mutiny that almost took place. Notes, a bibliography, a few black-and-white photographs and an extensive nautical glossary round out this involving testimony - which deserves special recognition since it shows shipboard life through a (then) ordinary man's eyes, rather than those of a ship's captain or mate. Highly recommended.

I was hoping for some exciting reading here but the writing style is so matter-of-factly as to become boring after a short time. The only reason I did not put the book aside after a few pages is that I could easily read the whole thing in just two hours. A five months sea journey in 1860 packed into two hours worth of reading - you may get the idea that there is little room for a thrilling account of it. Not recommended for anyone who does not have some personal connection to the ship or the author.

My great-grandfather purchased this ship the Dashing Wave sometime (in 1800's) after its voyage of rounding Cape Horn. The photo on cover of this book is the same photo that my grandparents had on their wall at their house,

and was given to me several years ago. The photo was taken when my great-grandfather owned it. (He was a tyrant,

but that's another story!)

So of course this book Cruise of the Dashing Wave is very special to me. The writing inside (by the ship's carpenter)

is unique and shows some of the author's biases. Hard to believe the hardships that sailors endured during this

era.

The book consists of:

1. The passage around Cape Horn by the book's author

2. An interview with the daughter of the Captain Lancaster

3. Glossary of Nautical and Slang Terms

4. Bibliography and Index

(Purchased this book at Amazon.)